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Rick & Negan's Battle On 'The Walking Dead' May Have A Surprising Outcome

Ever since Negan and his infamous bat, Lucille, first made their debut on The Walking Dead, fans have been understandably eager to see this villain meet his maker. But considering how many people the guy has tortured, one has to wonder who would be the most deserving to carry out the sentence. Daryl and Maggie definitely want to see this guy dead. However, some could argue that they want to see it ed in a showdown between Negan and Rick. So does Rick kill Negan in The Walking Dead Season 8? This great battle everyone has been anticipating may have a surprising outcome for fans — at least those who aren't familiar with what happens in the comics.

As shocking as this may be to many of you, Negan is actually still alive in The Walking Dead comics. That's right — this vile, cold-hearted character is still in the land of the living, even after the war against Rick comes to a close. Of course, that doesn't mean that the battle won't still be a bloodbath because it totally will be. Both Rick and Negan even go on to suffer some pretty serious injuries — Rick obtains a severe wound to his leg while Negan's throat gets slashed, though neither of these wounds become fatal, believe it or not.

So what happened to Negan after the great war, then? He becomes Rick's prisoner for several years until he manages to escape with someone's help. However, he surprisingly doesn't seek out revenge against his captors. Instead, he goes on to infiltrate and kill the leader of yet another rival group called the Whisperers as a way to help Rick. So in a very weird and unexpected twist, he becomes a sort of ally for the very people he's currently trying to destroy on the show. Talk about a major attitude adjustment.

Granted, that's not to say that things will play out this way in the series. The show has always stuck pretty heavily by its comic book counterpart, but that doesn't mean it hasn't ever deviated from it. Some people like Carol's daughter Sophia are still alive in the comics, while Carol herself is dead. That is definitely not how the show decided to play those fates out. So it's certainly possible Negan's fate could go in an entirely different direction, especially if the writers feel it's something fans really, really want to see, which they do.

But regardless of whether Negan ends up living or dying, viewers can take comfort in knowing that the war between Rick and Negan will come to a head and fully play out by the time Season 8 comes to a close. "The war will absolutely be resolved by the end of Season 8," showrunner Scott Gimple recently told Entertainment Weekly in an interview. "Absolutely."

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Negan, also revealed in an interview with Playboy that his character isn't going anywhere anytime soon. "I'll be around for a little while," Morgan teased, while adding.:

Negan is introduced in issue 100 in the comics, and he's still in it some fifty issues later. If we keep going at this rate, and if they follow the comic book, that could be three or four seasons. We haven't had a lot of conversations about what's ahead, but the show is in a rare position. Unless the audience just totally says, 'F**k off,' I think we'll be around for a while longer.

Could this just be a ploy to throw us off the scent? Maybe, so I definitely wouldn't rule out a Negan death out just yet this season. But if it's going to happen, I'd say it wouldn't be until the finale, given how highly anticipated it is. But in the meantime, buckle up, my friends — this is going to once again be a very Negan-centric season.

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